


Bedroom Warfare

by jajudeeds



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: (slaps roof of car) this bad boy can fit so many tropes in it!, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Blood and Violence, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Morally Ambiguous Character, Murder, Soulmates, honestly its not as dark as i make it out to be, it actually turned out more light hearted than i expected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:26:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28046916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jajudeeds/pseuds/jajudeeds
Summary: “What the fuck! Seriously! Can't you just die already?”“So youhavebeen trying to kill me.”“I’ve been for the past few weeks but thanks for noticing!”or the one where Jae has been trying to murder his so-called husband, but he just Won’t Fucking Die.
Relationships: Park Jaehyung | Jae/Yoon Dowoon
Comments: 18
Kudos: 73





	Bedroom Warfare

**Author's Note:**

> hello friends! after months of writers block, i have returned with a tiny one-shot for all of you :)  
> theres a lot of mentions of murder and violence, but theres nothing too graphic, and its actually pretty light hearted (especially after you're half way through!). i have also just realized the amount of words is 6969. i did not do that on purpose.
> 
> also! i strongly advise you to listen to this [cover of rv's psycho](https://youtu.be/LiEAo_pU9vk) to get the ~vibes~
> 
> so have fun and enjoy reading :D

Dowoon has just toed his shoes off, not even announcing his arrival when his husband comes to greet him, with an unusual skip in his step. It’s awkward because Jae doesn’t usually greet him at the door (or anywhere at all) out of his own volition, but Dowoon humours him anyway.

“Honey,” Dowoon smiles at him.

“Hm?”

The fact that Jae didn’t automatically snarl at him for the pet name is also another sign. Dowoon tries not to snicker.

“How was your day today? Was it good?”

Dowoon shrugs off his jacket and puts away his bag, while Jae skitters around him as if to make him move faster, hands already grabbing at Dowoon’s belongings to help him put them away. How impatient.

Jae leads him towards the dining table, face still bright, “It was. Hopefully it’ll be better soon.”

They smile at each other at that.

Jae ushers Dowoon to his seat, pushing him down by the shoulders, “You just sit here okay? I’ll bring you dinner.”

“Oh, thank you!” As he watches Jae plate him his food, he adds, “Wow. It smells delicious. What's the occasion?”

Dowoon’s pretty sure he knows what the occasion is.

“It’s delicious alright! So eat as much as you want,” Jae puts a bowl of bibimbap in front of Dowoon, still slightly sizzling, “There's no occasion. Don’t we eat delicious food every night?”

“Ah, you’re right,” Dowoon eyes Jae’s bibimbap, it looks identical, and smells just as good. 

“Well, thank you for the meal!”

After mixing the entire bowl, Dowoon moves to take his first bite. Jae watches him intently, eyes crinkling at the sides, smile too condescending. Dowoon absolutely adores it.

The moment his tongue tastes the food, he recognizes the bitter taste.

Dowoon chews and smiles at Jae, “Poison again, darling?”

Jae shrugs, face still calm. He starts digging into his own food, “Oh silly, what on earth do you mean?”

Dowoon takes another spoonful and it's just as bitter as the first. Jae probably increased the dose this time. He's not sure if he's able to finish the bowl, but more because it tastes awful, and not because he’d die before he finishes it. He attempts to anyway, since Jae seems to be in a lighter mood watching Dowoon eat this.

As Dowoon scrapes the last bits of rice in his bowl, he sighs happily.

“Thank you, Jae. Let's eat together like this again.”

Jae stares at him a beat longer than usual, and Dowoon could see the change in his demeanour. The bright, happy Jae is disappearing, as he morphs back into his usual cold, dark exterior. Dowoon smiles sweetly at the sharp glare towards him. 

“Since you prepared such a lovely meal for me, I’ll wash up okay? You can rest.”

Dowoon picks up their bowls, before he leans in and places a gentle kiss on Jae’s head. Jae doesn’t move from his seat. As Dowoon makes his way towards the kitchen, he hears a frustrated groan and a sound similar to a fist hitting a table, and Dowoon smiles even wider.

Jae is a swindler.

A conman. A trickster. Whatever synonym you can think of.

But to be frank, Jae is also pretty much a complete psycho.

Jae knows he's easy on the eyes, that he's charismatic, that he can talk his way in and out of a situation. Jae also knows that he really, really loves money.

And what is a better way of obtaining money than getting it directly from rich men?

They have too much money anyway. And they're always so snobbish about it, with houses that are too big, with too many expensive cars, and showing off their wealth like their lives depended on it. Jae despises them all. 

So this is what Jae does: He worms his way into said rich man’s life, wins their heart in some way (it's not much of a heart anyway), marries them, and ta-da! He’s rich. 

And what better way to  _ stay _ rich than getting rid of your said rich husband?

He plans it all down to the T, making sure that all the money ends up in his hands, and making sure that he gets out of everything unscathed. It’s fun too, watching these assholes on their high horses, begging him for mercy, watching the fear in their eyes. It’s strangely addicting.

If anything, he’s less of a swindler and more like a black widow.

And Jae chooses his prey well. He researches, he plans, he executes.

Yoon Dowoon, on the other hand, was the one who chose Jae.

Jae had never heard of him before, but he was filthy rich, and seemed shiny and naive and eager to please; that Jae agreed to his very short courtship and ended up married to him.

In hindsight, if Jae knew what he was getting into, he definitely wouldn’t have.

Because its been 2 months into their marriage and Dowoon just won’t fucking die.

He’s tried so many ways. At first Dowoon didn’t seem to catch on, but Jae could see the gears in his head turning, turning, turning after every attempt. After a few weeks in, Jae’s certain that Dowoon is a mastermind at avoiding death, that Jae doesn’t even try to hide his attempts anymore.

It was right after Jae stabbed him in the middle of the night, literally, right in the heart with a kitchen knife, their bedsheets bleeding red. Dowoons eyes open with surprise, gasping, as Jae removes the knife with ease.

Jae moved to sit by the bed and sighed to himself, “God. Finally.”

He was sitting there, with the knife still in his hand, when he felt a hand in his hair, gentle movements patting his hair down. Jae swivelled his head towards the touch.

He saw Dowoon sitting in bed, looking right at him, his t-shirt still soaked in blood. He even had a soft smile. That’s when Jae blew up in his face.

“What the fuck! Seriously! Can't you just die already?”

“So you  _ have _ been trying to kill me.”

“I’ve been for the past few weeks but thanks for noticing!”

Dowoon laughed, and Jae was so close to losing his mind that he pounced on Dowoon, making them fall back on the bed, as he lifted his shirt up to see the wound still open.

“How are you not dead?” Jae was staring at the injury, his hand staining with blood. Dowoon, on the other hand, was looking up at him like Jae put the stars in the sky. Jae wanted to punch the look off of him.

Dowoon reached out and brushed Jae’s hair from his forehead, “Don’t these murder attempts get tiring for you? Why don’t you limit yourself to just once a day?”

Jae swatted his hand away, sitting up. Dowoon followed his movement and circled his arms around Jae, keeping him from running away. Jae immediately pushed Dowoon’s chest to make sure their faces weren’t so close.

“Let go of me.”

“Let's make a deal.”

Jae was much taller than Dowoon, but Dowoon was stronger, that Jae was forced to look down on Dowoon while he sat in his lap, with no chance of escaping.

“Why don’t we do this. Every day, you can attempt to kill me once,  _ just once _ , and if you fail, you let me kiss you. Also only once.”

“What if I want to kill you more times in a day?”

Dowoon smiled, “Then I earn more kisses.”

“No! I don’t even have to agree to this!” Jae struggled to get out of Dowoon’s grasp, but he had a good hold on him. Why should he agree to this anyway? “You obviously can't die for some reason so why should I even try!”

“I can.”

“You just got stabbed and you're here talking to me like it’s a regular Tuesday night!”

“Do we have a deal or not?”

Jae thought about it. Dowoon didn’t seem to be lying about him being able to die, and Jae was also one stubborn dumbass, that he wanted to see this through.

“Deal. But just one kiss! No funny business!”

Dowoon beamed at him, face already nearing Jae's, as if he was sealing this deal by starting with this stabbing incident, as he spoke on Jae’s lips, “Deal.”

Technically, Dowoon didn’t lie. He  _ can _ die.

It just has to be done in a very specific way. Like, decapitating his head and burning his body parts until they turn to ash, or so he thinks. It's never happened before, but logically speaking, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to survive that. He would also prefer if no one tested it out on him, to be honest.

Dowoon isn’t sure himself why he's like this, but an easy way of explaining it is that he’s pretty sure he’s immortal, if the past 500 years he's been alive is any indication. And it's not like the injuries don’t hurt, because they definitely do. He just recovers from them mysteriously. Has he mentioned that he also hasn’t aged a single day after he turned 30?

It was definitely odd, and it’s not like he asked for this. Dowoon would prefer to live like a normal person and die of old age, but Dowoon could never find any answers of why this is happening to him, and how he could stop it. 

Another peculiar thing about his extremely long lifespan, is that he keeps meeting Jae. His reincarnations, at least.

They always end up crossing paths some way. Sometimes it’s fleeting, like seeing him on a neighbouring platform at a train station and never seeing him again after, and sometimes it's more permanent, like being introduced to him by a group of friends, Dowoon smiling upon hearing the words “I’m Park Jaehyung” being said to him for the umpteenth time, their hands clasping around one other. 

Dowoon ends up falling in love with him every single time though.

He doesn’t always mean to, but the memory of his Jae, the very first one, saying “I love you, Dowoon” gives him a feeling that could match the intensity of a star going supernova, that he always wants to hear it, over and over.

So when he met this Jae by chance at a coffee shop, him looking like a model who just walked off a runway, glittery and golden, Dowoon couldn’t help but fall into the pit again.

And it was weird at first, how easily Jae agreed to Dowoon courting him despite not knowing anything about him, how excited he was at the prospect of Dowoon proposing to him, that Dowoon immediately knew this Jae was different.

Come to think of it, all of the Jaes he met were different from each other, but maybe the difference this time around was more sinister.

Out of all the times he had to be right, it had to be now.

It still works out in Dowoon’s favour in a way, because Jae has a habit of killing people, and Dowoon can't die. So they're a match made in heaven, honestly (in Dowoon’s eyes anyway. He knows Jae hates his guts).

Still, even after every attempt, Jae continues to sleep in his bed every night, and eats breakfast and dinner with him, and although Jae loves to throw words like “I hate you!” and “Die!” at Dowoon a lot, he still hasn’t left, so Dowoon decides to look on the bright side of it all and considers this as a win.

This is where their marriage is at currently, Jae thinks.

Just a casual daily murder attempt in their schedule, which was always bound to fail, if the word attempt is anything to go by, and then Dowoon would kiss him.

He really is a man of his word, never giving him even a tiny peck more than he’s allowed to, and most times the kisses are innocent; a soft brush on Jae’s cheek, a gentle one on his forehead, a quick peck on his nose.

But once in a while, Dowoon gets frisky and kisses him full on the lips, and those never end up being short-lived. Jae doesn’t want to admit it, but Dowoon is  _ really  _ good at kissing Jae, his movements languid and always like he's taking his sweet time, fully appreciating the feeling of Jae’s tongue on his. Jae could move away, could argue that “You said one kiss!” even when it is technically just one (albeit a very lengthy one), but he doesn’t, and he might as well enjoy it when a man is kissing him like he means it, right?

(There was even one rare time that Dowoon used his One Kiss Per Attempt to place a kiss on the inside of Jae’s thigh, and Jae really wanted to kill him even more then because of how flustered he felt for some reason)

And well, somehow in the deepest, darkest corners of his mind, he does think that if attempting murder really gets Dowoon to kiss him like this, then boy, he could do this all day.

Nevertheless, as much as Jae secretly enjoys Dowoon’s kisses, the need for him to die is also at an all-time high.

Jae has even shot him in the head at point blank before, and he  _ still  _ isn’t dead. Jae cursed him for hours after that, and that brings him back to square one. So Jae figures that if he can't kill Dowoon, he could just bury him alive in some secluded place where no one could find him, and he would still achieve the same results he wanted in the end. Which brings Jae to this current predicament.

Jae just finished digging the hole, which is exhausting by the way, when he turns to Dowoon’s unconscious body on the ground behind him.

Only to see Dowoon leaning his head on his hand, as he lies on his side, watching Jae.

Jae sputters, “You’re supposed to be unconscious!”

“Indeed I should be.”

“Then why aren’t you!” Jae grips the shovel in his hands. He could probably hit him in the head with it. He wonders if he should try.

Dowoon stands up, patting the dirt off his pants, “That’s a very good question, but I’m afraid I don’t have the answer.”

“Why won’t you die! Just die already!” Jae swings the shovel at Dowoon. He knows it’s a measly attempt, especially with how tired his arms are from the strenuous exercise he just had, but he’s frustrated. He used an extreme amount of tranquilizer, how is he even awake!

Dowoon dodges it with ease, smiling at Jae, “Aw, but I’ll miss you.”

“Stop! I hate you!” 

Jae stomps towards their car, not even looking back.

“I’m just standing here, honey.”

“Just die!”

Jae swears that Dowoon is the bane of Jae’s entire existence.

Jae doesn’t usually miss breakfast, no matter how intricate his plans for murder was.

Dowoon has been waiting for Jae downstairs for the past 15 minutes, and there's still no sign of him, which led Dowoon to check up on him. He enters their bedroom to see Jae still in bed, cocooned by the thick covers. Dowoon sits beside the sleeping figure, shaking him gently, “Jae. Wake up. Aren't you hungry?”

Jae only answers him with a groan.

Dowoon bends down and touches Jae’s cheek, only to feel it warmer than usual.

“Darling, are you sick?”

“No.”

Dowoon places his hand on Jae’s forehead, while Jae clumsily tries to push it away.

“You’re burning up. Let me get you something alright? I’ll cancel my meetings today-”

Jae whines out, “Just leave. I’m fine.”

Dowoon already has his phone to his ear, placing a kiss on Jae’s head, hearing Jae’s weak, “Hey, no kisses-” before moving to walk out from the room.

Dowoon knows this is  _ sort of _ his fault. 

Yesterday, Jae’s daily attempt was to tamper with Dowoon’s car brakes. And Dowoon admits, it would’ve been extraordinary, if Dowoon wasn’t so furious about it. He remembers coming back from the hospital, shrugging off the useless sling his arm was in, and stalking towards Jae, trapping him in the corner of the kitchen counter. 

“Jaehyung.”

Jae looked at the patches of gauze on his face, which probably had already stopped bleeding by now, but Dowoon grabbed his chin so that they were looking eye to eye. Jae tried to move, and Dowoon only held his face tighter.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

He saw Jae’s eyes widen a fraction before squinting back at him, “Hi, fuck you too.”

“Innocent people could’ve died, Jae. I was lucky I could ram my car into a divider and there weren’t any other casualties.”

They were staring each other down. Jae pushed Dowoon off of him, immediately walking away.

“Oh, wow, now you’re suddenly a saint.”

“I’m serious, Jae! Do not do that again,” Dowoon followed right behind.

Jae started yelling, and Dowoon could feel the bite in his words, “You're not the boss of me! You can't tell me what to do!”

“You're supposed to only kill me! Not some damn bystanders!”

“Well maybe if you weren’t so fucked up and hard to kill I wouldn’t have to resort to this!”

“Do you really want me dead that bad that you're willing to put innocent people’s lives in danger! Do you really hate me that much!”

“If you still can’t tell, then I’ll tell you again: I can’t stand you.”

Then Jae stormed out the front door. Dowoon was fuming and knew he had to calm down before doing anything else, that he sat in the living room for a good while before he realized that Jae wasn’t even dressed for the cold. And he didn’t bring his wallet with him. And he was alone.

So Dowoon left searching for him, driving around the neighbourhood in the middle of the night, only to find Jae walking with his shoulders hunched and arms crossed, aimlessly in the dark with mismatched shoes. He slowed down his car to cruise beside him, opening his window.

“Get in.”

“No.”

“This isn’t the time to be stubborn, it's freezing out, and you're in your damn pajamas for God’s sake.”

“Leave me alone.”

Out of all the times Jae wanted to be pouty. Dowoon gritted his teeth and parked his car, chasing Jae down to immediately wrap him in a coat, followed by a thick blanket. Jae stared at him blankly, not even moving to stop him.

After making sure Jae was warm, Dowoon looked up at him, “Let's just go home, okay?”

Once they got home, Dowoon pushed Jae towards the bathroom for him to take a warm shower, and after, Dowoon tucked him into bed, Jae not meeting his eyes the entire time.

Dowoon sighed, “I’ll sleep downstairs. I’ll give you your space.”

Then he kissed Jae’s forehead, lingering longer than usual, whispered “Goodnight” and left it at that.

And now Jae is probably sick from his late night wandering, and Dowoon can't help but feel partially responsible for it. Which brings him to a slightly more stubborn Jae, but at least he's too lethargic to be violent to Dowoon about it.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat something, darling,” Dowoon puts down the bowl of soup on the dresser next to the bed, “Come on now, sit up.”

Jae groans, “I said I don’t wanna-”

Dowoon manages to pull Jae into a sitting position, but now Jae is completely cocooned in the sheets, that only his face and some tufts of hair are visible. He looks so adorable that Dowoon has to refrain from kissing a guy who can’t defend himself.

“Here, I’ll feed you.”

“Ugh-” 

“Yeah, yeah. 10 spoons at least. Please? And then you can eat your meds and get right back to sleep. The faster you humour me, the faster I’ll leave you alone.”

Jae looks miserable, and he probably doesn’t even have the strength to argue even more.

“Fine,” he huffs. 

Jae ends up eating half the bowl, which is more than Dowoon expected, and eats his meds obediently. He doesn’t even complain about Dowoon feeding him. He probably just wants Dowoon gone as fast as possible, but Dowoon is enjoying it either way.

As Dowoon tucks Jae back in, smoothing down his hair on his forehead, Jae mumbles, “This doesn’t mean anything, I’ll still fight you when I get better” but there isn’t any malice in it.

Dowoon smiles, leaning down to leave a kiss on Jae’s temple. Jae doesn't even move away.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

After Jae got better, it was back to usual business in the Yoon-Park household.

To be fair, he  _ did  _ leave one day without any attempts right after he got better, announcing it first thing in the morning, just as a thank you to Dowoon for taking care of him while he’s sick. “But it still doesn’t mean anything!” Jae pointed to Dowoon as he said it, while Dowoon had a smug look on his face. Ugh. He should appreciate Jae’s kindness.

Now, they were both on opposite sides of the couch in front of the TV, some random movie playing, when Dowoon speaks up.

“You know, if you just wanted my money, I don’t have to be dead for it.”

Jae shifts his eyes to see Dowoon looking right at him.

He continues, “And if I’m alive, I can keep earning money, and you get a limitless supply.”

Jae looks back at the TV. He doesn’t think he can look at Dowoon while having this conversation.

“Maybe I just like killing rich men.”

Dowoon hums. Jae’s heart is beating fast for some reason, not knowing what kind of reaction Dowoon would have. He doesn’t even know why Dowoon’s opinion mattered.

“I didn’t really consider that. Still, it doesn’t have to be me, though.”

Jae turns back to look at him, “Aren’t you worried that I’ll go continue my killing spree after this?”

“Honey,” Dowoon tilts his head, like it's the most obvious thing in the world, “You can kill all the rich men you want.”

Jae pretends that Dowoon’s answer doesn’t fill him with delight.

“Well, I want to, but there's this one guy who can't seem to die for me to do that.”

“Like I said, I don’t need to be dead for you to murder  _ other  _ rich men.”

Jae actually thinks about it for a second, “I guess you have a point.”

Dowoon smiles at him, which is weird considering the conversation they were having, “If you ever need an alibi, I am at your service.”

“You’re making this even more tempting for me. Are you sure you’re not doing this just to distract me from my mission of getting rid of you?”

“Oh my silly husband, what on earth do you mean?” Dowoon asks, faking innocence.

Jae throws a pillow at him then, and their laughter echoes in the living room, and for once Jae thinks that maybe this is what it feels like to have a home.

Dowoon doesn’t want to jinx it, but he’s suspicious.

Jae has been slowing down on his murder attempts. They weren't half-assed by any means, but they also weren’t as frequent now, somehow replaced by them doing more domestic things together. Like buying groceries together, cooking together, watching TV together. There was even one time that Dowoon invited Jae to go shopping with him, and Jae surprisingly  _ agreed _ . 

Jae had his own card for his purchases, which is directly linked to Dowoon’s bank account, but Dowoon guesses that it's different when Dowoon is the person swiping his card at the counter and Jae just happily hugs his purchases to his chest. 

Dowoon probably likes that day the most so far.

All they did was walk around the mall, entering whatever shop Jae wanted, Dowoon watching Jae try out different articles of clothing and Jae actually turning to him to ask “How do I look?” “Does this look okay?” “Isn’t this dope!”. Dowoon doesn't know if this is Jae’s way of trying to appeal to Dowoon to get him to buy him more things, but Dowoon feels like he's on cloud nine. And when has he ever resisted any of Jae’s wants anyway? Soon the amount of shopping bags in Dowoon’s hands multiply, and the happiness that radiates from Jae gives Dowoon so much comfort and belonging, that he wishes they could stay like this a moment longer.

For once, it feels like they were regular husbands, Jae pulling Dowoon by the hand to the next store Jae set his eyes on, and not some weird thing they had going entirely based on murder and money.

The conversation happens when they’re both in bed, Jae scrolling on his phone, with Dowoon’s night lamp still shedding light from his bedside table, while Dowoon lies on his side looking at him.

“Have you stopped trying to kill me?”

He sees Jae’s fingers pause on his phone, Jae only glancing slightly at him.

“Did you want me to continue?”

“I would prefer if you didn’t, but…” Dowoon thinks out loud, “Do you have something else up your sleeve then?”

Jae continues scrolling on his phone, “Even if I did, why would I reveal that?”

“So you don’t. Wait-”

Dowoon sits up, looking at Jae with wide eyes. The sudden movement startles Jae too.

“Are you… warming up to me?”

“Wha- No! Why would you even think that! I still hate you!” Jae sputters out. He pulls the covers and turns to his side, hiding his face from Dowoon, “This conversation is over. Good night.”

Dowoon thinks he’s had enough of teasing Jae for the night, but the entire conversation replays in his mind until the next morning, still making him giddy.

Jae still hates Dowoon.

He hates how gentle Dowoon is, he hates the way Dowoon smiles, he hates that weird laugh he has, he hates Dowoon’s sleeping face, he hates the pet names Dowoon calls him, he hates that Dowoon is so humble even though he’s rich as hell, he hates, hates, hates Dowoon with his entire being.

Ultimately, the thing he hates the most is how attached he is to Dowoon now.

This was never part of the plan. Jae isn’t supposed to develop… whatever it is he feels for Dowoon, and honestly? Jae is  _ panicking _ .

Jae has only depended on himself his entire life. He’s made it this far, he’s been this successful, only because his only priority is himself. He had seduced and killed so many men before! He got away with them all! He doesn't even remember how many there are now, and not even one of them managed to even come close to Jae’s invincible fortress.

Then, this guy- motherfucking Yoon Dowoon- turns up out of nowhere and suddenly he just magically appears in the heart of the solitary cage Jae made for himself, as if he’s made a home in it, as if he’s been there all along.

It’s too dangerous. Jae didn’t sign up to tread such dangerous waters. All this time he’s been choosing ‘fight’ whenever his fight or flight instincts are activated, and now for the first time, he’s going to choose the latter. There’s still honour in running away, isn’t there? A prey’s survival depends on their ability to flee a risky situation, and right now, the danger that is emitting from Dowoon makes him an unpredictable predator. So he makes his decision.

One night, as they’re sitting having dinner, Jae inhales and rips off the band-aid.

“I want a divorce.”

Dowoon’s chopsticks fall from his hand, clanging on the table.

“What?”

“I’m going to try my luck elsewhere.”

Jae has never seen so much hurt on Dowoon’s face before. Even after all the murder attempts Jae has done, this look, this pain Dowoon is showing on his face seems so foreign.

“What do you mean?” Even Dowoon’s voice sounds strained, and Jae hates himself for it.

Jae tries to be as nonchalant as possible, speaking in clipped sentences, “I can’t be tied down. I’m a free spirit, you know. Relationships aren't for me. Gotta find a rich douchebag to kill.” 

Dowoon doesn’t respond. He plays with his food, as if it contains the answers of the universe. Then he quietly mutters.

“Let me think about it.”

“There's nothing to think about. I'm sure many people want to be your partner.”

“And you don’t?”

Dowoon stares at him, searching Jae’s face for any sign that Jae is lying, but Jae didn’t successfully manipulate all those men without having any acting skills of his own, did he? So he looks back at Dowoon, face devoid of emotion, and answers.

“I don’t.”

Dowoon looks at Jae for a second, before standing up with his half-eaten dish and walks towards the kitchen. Jae thought it would be the end of the conversation, until Dowoon continues.

“I’ll talk to my lawyers tomorrow.”

And Jae knows Jae was the one who brought this upon himself, so why is that sentence breaking his heart all the same?

Dowoon wishes he could die. Dowoon wishes he could die and maybe if he's lucky he could meet any of the Jaehyungs that loved him before in the afterlife, and not have to look at the one that’s looking at him in the eye as if Dowoon was the one who puts poison in his food.

And maybe it’s Dowoon’s fault for having unrealistic expectations. Just because they had a few good days, a few good moments, doesn’t mean that Jae will fall in love with him.

As he lies in bed, looking at Jae’s back, Dowoon frowns to himself.

“Jae? Are you awake?”

“Hm?” Jae sleepily hums.

Dowoon gulps, and decides to throw caution to the wind. He might not be able to get this chance for a while.

“Can- Can I hold you? Just for tonight,” he whispers out. “Please.”

Jae stays silent, and Dowoon thinks that he might’ve gone back to sleep, until he hears a soft “Okay”.

So he presses himself against Jae’s back, looping his arms around the other, and breathes him in.

He knows he can't have every Jae that he meets. The Jaes that already had a significant other, the Jaes that were far too young, far too old when they met, the Jaes that aren’t into men. He knows it. But then, there were also so many Jaes that loved him. His memories blend and blur together, of all the Jaes that looked at him with so much warmth and affection, of all the Jaes that he loved and lost, that went too soon, that died of old age, of all of the Jaes that loved Dowoon as much as Dowoon loved him.

Dowoon doesn’t want to pressure Jae, or any Jae, into falling in love with him. He doesn’t want to say that, _Hey! Almost all your reincarnations somehow cross my path, and we fall in love in more than half of them!_ _What a coincidence right!_

So for now, he’ll etch this memory into his head, until he can meet the next Jae and hope to God that that Jae would love him. He tries his best to remember the feeling of having Jae in his arms, how it feels like to have him under his touch. He tries not to cry, but he still ends up in tears anyway.

That night, as he silently cries himself to sleep, he almost mistakens the feeling of Jae’s hand holding onto his, but he knows that's just wishful thinking.

The next night, right after Dowoon comes home, he places a folder in front of Jae. Jae looks up at him, questioning.

“Here. The divorce papers.”

“Oh,” Jae sits there, startled, “That was quick.”

Dowoon turns away from him, “I’ve already signed it. So just leave it on the table later and I’ll go send it tomorrow morning.”

Jae knows he’s the one to ask for this, but he remembers how tightly Dowoon held him last night, how he could hear the other’s quiet sniffles, that he couldn’t help but be selfish. He’s never been a good person anyway.

“Why didn’t you try to convince me?”

“Huh?” Dowoon looks at him. Jae hopes his voice doesn’t shake.

“To stay. To not get divorced.”

Dowoon smiles, a bittersweet thing, “Well, it's hard to convince you when you’ve already made up your mind-”

“You could’ve tried though-”

“Jae, what is this about? Do you want to get divorced or not?” Jae could see Dowoon is starting to get frustrated, but Jae couldn’t bring himself to stop. Why is he such an asshole?

“Do  _ you _ ?”

“Of course I don’t!”

Jae doesn’t know what he wants at this point, he’s just spewing out words, “Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“When has anything I said made any difference to you!”

Jae speechlessly stares at Dowoon, before Dowoon looks away, staring at the floor instead.

“I’m not sure if you know this, but I didn’t marry you with an ulterior motive. I  _ am _ in love with you. I want to be with you all the time. And if you’re going to attempt to murder me, or anyone else, for the rest of your life while I do that, then its fine by me.”

Jae is still rooted to his spot, taking in everything Dowoon is saying. Dowoon looks back up at him.

“But I never want to be the reason that you’re unhappy.”

Dowoon picks up the folder containing the divorce papers again, and places it in Jae’s hands himself.

“So if this divorce is what you want, if it’s what will make you happy, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Jae could see the unshed tears in Dowoon’s eyes, and Jae wants to reach out, to wipe them away before they fall, but Dowoon turns back towards the front door, and only glances back at Jae when he has one foot over the threshold.

“Thank you,” Dowoon has the most painful smile on his face that Jae has ever seen, “For letting me be your husband for these past few months.”

Then the door closes with a click.

Dowoon thought he had enough of crying last night, but evidently not.

He’s just driving without a destination, his feelings numb, before he parks on the roadside and bawls his eyes out. He isn’t going to lie, this whole thing is frustrating. He’s angry, and sad, and he wants to pull his hair out, but all he can do for now is cry, so that’s what he does. 

Once he thinks he’s had enough, he finds himself driving back home, as if the whole thing never happened.

The dim lights are still on in the living room, and after he puts his coat away, he moves to turn them off, only to see Jae asleep on the couch. Like he was waiting for him to come back. Dowoon’s heart clenches.

Dowoon doesn’t understand what's going on with Jae. He's spent hundreds of years living, but this is the first time he's ever met someone as confusing as this Jae. But he was confusing and reckless and frustrating, just as much as he was beautiful and determined and persevering. Dowoon is so in love with him.

Dowoon kneels next to the couch, coming face-to-face with the sleeping Jae. He slowly shakes him awake.

“Jae, wake up.”

Jae groggily hums and squints his eyes open. Dowoon adds, “Let's get you to bed. Why are you sleeping here in the first place?”

Then, without warning, Jae reaches out and holds the side of Dowoon’s face.

Dowoon freezes.

Jae still looks sleepy, but he also looks awake enough to know what he’s doing, and Dowoon has never seen Jae wear an expression like this, especially towards him.

Jae probably sees his confusion, as he quietly says, “I don’t hate you.”

Dowoon searches Jae’s face for the meaning of all this, but Jae’s hand on his face is gentle, his gaze soft.

“I think I haven’t for a while.”

Dowoon places his hand on top of Jae’s, and leans towards it. He waits.

“Is it really okay?” Jae looks even more vulnerable now, “Is it really okay for someone like me to love you?”

Even when Dowoon already exhausted all his tears on his drive just now, his eyes still well up upon hearing those words, that he lets out a wet laugh. He pulls Jae’s hand from his face, kissing the pads of Jae’s fingers gently.

“Of course it's okay. It’s more than okay.”

“Maybe you’re the crazy one, for loving someone like me.”

“That’s okay too. We can both be.”

Jae is the one crying then, “I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to get divorced.”

Dowoon reaches out to hug Jae, and Jae immediately wraps his arms around Dowoon’s shoulders, both of their tears falling.

“Then don’t. Stay with me. We’ll take care of each other.”

They sit there crying on each other’s shoulders for a while, and when Jae separates himself from Dowoon, they both laugh looking at each other’s tear stained faces, both of them wiping each other’s tears away.

They look at each other for only a moment, before Jae kisses Dowoon. This is the first time Jae kisses him first, and Dowoon basks in the feeling before melting into the kiss, lips melding with each other. The living room is quiet, except for the sound of their sighs and the sound of their lips whenever they separate, before diving right back in. Their movements are slow, and Jae’s hands make their way from Dowoon’s shoulder, to his neck, to his hair, while Dowoon maintains his arms looped around Jae’s tiny waist, keeping him as close as possible.

Dowoon doesn’t know how long they stay there for, but as they pause to catch a breath, their foreheads leaning against each other, Dowoon mumbles, “Want to continue this upstairs?”

Jae loops his arms around Dowoon’s neck and smiles.

“Only if you carry me up.”

“You’re taller than me,” Dowoon teases. “It’s hard to carry you.”

Jae tightens his hold, “Come on, up and at ‘em. I know you’re capable, I’ve seen those muscles.”

“So you’ve been checking me out.”

“It’s not a crime to check out my own husband!”

Dowoon does end up carrying Jae up to their bedroom, laughter and yelling filling the entire house as they bump into furniture and walls, and Dowoon doesn’t think of immortality, or incarnations, or past memories. He just thinks of his husband in his arms, and he thinks that he has never been this happy in so long.

“Immortal, huh.”

They decided to skip breakfast and stay in bed, both of them basking in each other’s warmth, fingers intertwined with one another.

Dowoon spent the entire morning explaining to Jae about his so-called immortality, and if Jae hadn't been actively trying to kill him for the past few months, he might have thought Dowoon was insane. But as he tells his story, all the pieces started to come together, all their time spent with one another starting to make sense. Jae has a sudden realization at that moment. 

Jae pinches Dowoon’s arm, the other giving out a yelp, “No wonder you were so hard to kill, what the fuck!”

“Okay, to be fair,” Dowoon rubs at the sore spot, “Technically I do think I can die, but it’s gonna be a whole lot of work for it to happen. So maybe if you actually kept at it, you might’ve succeeded-”

“That's still in theory!”

Dowoon pouts a little at that, and they continue to play with each other fingers, thoughts filling up both their heads.

Jae thinks there's still something Dowoon hasn't told him, as if he hasn't explained the  _ entire  _ story yet, but Jae doesn't want to rush him. He'll definitely tell him in his own time. And 500 years?  _ Five hundred? _ That’s so long, wasn’t he-

“Weren’t you lonely?”

Dowoon looks at him, and Jae doesn't know if this is the first time someone asked him this. It’s like all the weight of the past hundreds of years are suddenly visible, his shoulders drooping.

Jae places his hand on the side of Dowoon’s neck, providing comfort, “You must’ve been.”

Dowoon doesn't say anything, but the look on his face is enough for Jae to know that he’s right. Jae has an impulsive thought, and it’s crazy, reckless, absolute  _ madness _ , but he still chooses to verbalize it. Wasn’t he the insane one in this relationship anyway?

“If we can’t find a way to make you human again, why don’t we find a way to make me immortal like you?”

Dowoon’s fingers pause in Jae’s hand, and Jae could feel him stiffen under his touch, Dowoon’s eyes wide like Jae just grew a second head.

“Wha-”

“Then you wouldn’t have to be alone anymore.”

Jae finds that he means it. He means every word that he said, spoken gently, clearly, so that Dowoon understands. Dowoon probably sees that, as tears started welling up in his eyes again. 

Jae quickly holds Dowoon’s face in his hands in a panic, “And! I get to murder all the rich assholes that I want! All the money- Ah, no wonder you have so much, you’ve lived for so long! That explains it honestly, I never really understood what your job is-”

Dowoon laughs loudly at that, Jae succeeding in lightening up the mood. Maybe one day they could talk more about Dowoon’s life, about the people he met, about the baggage that he carries, but today, they’ll just stay in bed, Jae lying close to his husband, a husband that loves him even when he’s unloveable.

Even when he murders people for a living. Especially then.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaa this was actually written on a whim, and i was vibrating at a frequency that can shatter glass the entire time i wrote it. i really hope you enjoyed reading it! thank you for your time :D
> 
> you can check out the moodboard and the post that inspired this fic [here!](https://twitter.com/jajudeeds/status/1338102613393326080?s=20)
> 
> UPDATE: ive also made a [self-indulgent a-la-movie trailer](https://twitter.com/jajudeeds/status/1339127884129075201?s=20) for this fic!
> 
> anyway scream at me in the comments below, or if you prefer, yell at me on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/jajudeeds)


End file.
